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Local News

Closings for Tuesday, February 16, 2021

St. Clair County

  • All AREA Schools are closed

Blue Water Transit – CLOSED – No bus service

Community Enterprises of St. Clair

Council on Aging St Clair County – No home delivered meals or congregate meals, all 4 senior centers are also closed, no transportation.

People’s Clinic for Better Health

PKSA Karate – There will be NO in person or zoom classes tonight.

SC4 – St. Clair County Community College – Evening classes are CANCELLED

St. Clair County Offices – all offices including libraries, administration, courts, and the health department

St. Clair Community Mental Health – All programs are closed. Employees do not need to report to work.

Sir Speedy Printing – Closed today – Reopening Wednesday, Feb 17th at 8:30 am.

Yale – No Bingo

Sanilac County

  • ALL Area Schools are CLOSED

 

 

St. Patrick’s Day Raffle Supports United Way

The United Way of St. Clair County is conducting its annual St. Patrick’s Day raffle, and prizes include array of gift baskets including themes like Explore St. Clair, Coffee Lover’s, Summertime, and School Spirit.

Gift baskets are full of surprises like gift cards to local restaurants, lottery tickets, overnight stays, and golf adventures. The Summertime Sizzlin’ basket includes a brand new Royal Gourmet Grill with Offset Smoker.

Tickets are available for $2 each both online <HERE> and at the United Way of St. Clair County’s office at 1723 Military Street in Port Huron. The drawing for prizes takes place on March 17th at 9:30 AM live on the United Way’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

Funds raised will support the many services and organizations the United Way of St. Clair County works with in our community.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

No Penalty or Interest for Failure to Make Tax Payments on Unemployment Checks

There is good news for those who collected unemployment benefits in 2020: no penalty or interest related to underpaid estimated tax payments will be levied, effective immediately. 

Taxpayers, even if unemployed, are required to make quarterly estimated tax payments if they expect to owe more than $500 in state taxes. Penalties for failure to do so are waived for 2020 unemployment benefits only.

State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said, “This is the right thing to do. COVID has disrupted our lives in numerous ways – and many Michiganders are depending on unemployment benefits to get them by during this extraordinary time. Having to pay penalties and interest on unemployment benefits is the last thing individuals should be worried about when they go to pay their taxes.”

No action is needed to get the waiver. It is automatically granted to unemployment beneficiaries. Unemployment money is taxable income and will need to be claimed on 2020 tax filings. Unemployment recipients should have received a 1099-G. Taxes are now being processed at both the federal and state levels.

More information about tax filing can be found at www.michigan.gov/incometax.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Register Now for Port Huron Boat Show

It’s not too soon to start thinking about summer, and The Antique and Classic Boat Society is planning several summer boat shows around the area. Registration is open for the Port Huron show which is scheduled for September 10th & 11th at the River Street Marina.

The focus of the 2021 Port Huron Boat the Blue Antique and Classic Boat Show is boat builder’s and restorers. The Blue Water Area is home to many boat building and design companies such as Chris Craft, Hacker, Garwood, Dodge, and Belle Isle Bearcats.

There will be more than 60 antique and classic boats to admire at the show, and the event is open and free to the public.

Boat owners can register their boats for the show at boattheblue.org. Those who register before August 14th will appear in the program and receive a goodie bag and hat embroidered with their boat’s name.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

Career and Technical Education Month Highlights Skilled Trades

February is Career and Technical Education Month. There are over half a million job openings projected to be available annually for the next seven years. Students are encouraged to explore career pathways that can lead to these high-demand jobs during Career and Technical Education Month.

Career and Technical Education, or CTE programs, are offered in regional “tech centers”, community colleges, and some universities. High demand fields include information technology, health care, hospitality, and manufacturing.

State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice, said, “Expanding CTE programs in Michigan schools helps to ensure students have the real-world, hands-on experience they need to explore rewarding career opportunities. CTE helps meet one of Michigan’s strategic education plan’s goals to expand secondary learning opportunities for all students – helping to inspire and encourage every student to explore all options along their educational journey.” 

There are over 3600 CTE programs in Michigan, with over 97,000 students currently involved. Interested students can explore professional trades careers by visiting Going-PRO.com/CTE. 

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland